CREATURE SYMBOLS TO FORESHADOW HARRY’S
CONFRONTATION WITH HIS PAST IN J.K. ROWLING’S
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
FABIAN FIRMAN ELMAR
Student Number: 134214018
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA
ii
CREATURE SYMBOLS TO FORESHADOW HARRY’S
CONFRONTATION WITH HIS PAST IN J.K. ROWLING’S
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
FABIAN FIRMAN ELMAR
Student Number: 134214018
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost is my thanks to Almighty God who guided me through hardship, joy, boredom, and laziness during the writing of this undergraduate thesis. Without his grace, this study may never be done on time.
My thanks and love for my parents and my brother for their support when I was working on this thesis as without them I would not have finished my thesis in time.
To my thesis advisor Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari S.S., M.Ed. and co-advisor Drs. Hirmawan Wijarnaka, M. Hum., I address my deepest gratitude for helping me writing this study, correcting mistakes I made in this writing, and supporting me during my study in Sanata Dharma.
Lastly, for my fellow students of English Letters in year 2013 who have finished before me, thank you all for pushing me into finishing this study as I would have lazed off all months had you not finished before me.
ix ABSTRACT
ELMAR, FABIAN FIRMAN. Creature Symbols to Foreshadow Harry’s
Confrontation with his Past in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2017.
Symbol is a major element in literary works. It always has a meaning which is different than the literal meaning of the symbol itself, and thus, it is prevalent in literary works which often contain hidden meanings. Foreshadowing on the other hand, is the act of vaguely hinting the readers to the future event in the story or even the outcome of said story. This study discusses the creature
symbols presented in J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as
foreshadowing element that hints towards the confrontation between Harry and his past in the conflict of the novel.
This study has two formulated problems. The first is about the presentation of the creature symbols in the novel and the second is on how the creature
symbols foreshadow Harry‘s confrontation of his past in the conflict.
This study uses library research method as the primary sources in conducting this study is a printed novel. The novel is analysed by applying new criticism approach, using close reading method and focusing on the literary devices of the novel in order to answer the problem formulations.
The result of analysis is divided into two parts in accordance to the formulated problems. There are three creature symbols found in the novel: The black dog, the rat Scabbers, and the dementors of Azkaban. The black dog reflects
Sirius‘ loyalty to his friends and its black fur symbolizes the sorrow and mourning
x ABSTRAK
ELMAR, FABIAN FIRMAN. Creature Symbols to Foreshadow Harry’s
Confrontation with his Past in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Simbol merupakan elemen penting dalam karya sastra. Simbol selalu memiliki arti berbeda dari arti harfiah symbol itu sendiri dan karena itu, simbol sering ditemukan dalam karya sastra yang memang banyak mengandung arti tersembunyi. Di sisi lain, pembayangan adalah tindakan untuk memberi petunjuk pada pembaca akan kejadian-kejadian mendatang dalam suatu cerita atau bahkan hasil akhir cerita tersebut. Studi ini mendiskusikan simbol-simbol makhluk yang terdapat dalam novel J.K. Rowling yang berjudul Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban sebagai elemen pembayangan yang menunjuk pada konfrontasi antara Harry dan masa lalunya dalam konflik di novel tersebut.
Ada dua permasalahan yang dirumuskan dalam studi ini. Yang pertama mengenai pemunculan simbol-simbol makhluk dalam novel dan yang kedua adalah bagaimana simbol-simbol makhluk tersebut membayangi konfrontasi antara Harry dan masa lalunya dalam konflik.
Studi ini menggunakan metode studi kepustakaan karena sumber utama dalam melaksanakan studi ini adalah novel tercetak. Novel dianalisa menggunakan pendekatan New Criticism dengan membaca teliti dan berfokus pada bagian-bagian karya sastra demi menjawab masalah yang telah dirumuskan.
1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Symbols is a major element in literary works. The word symbol itself derived from a Greek word meaning "to throw together" (syn, together, and ballein, to throw). Edgar and Jacobs (1987: 279) described symbols as follow:
a symbol pulls or draws together (1) a specific thing with (2) ideas, values, persons, or a ways of life, in a direct relationship that otherwise would not be apparent. A symbol might also be regarded as substitute for the elements being signified, much as the flag stands for the ideals of the nation. In other stories and other types of literature, a symbol is usually a person, thing, place, action, situation, or even thought.
Hence, going by the description above, a symbol is an object that represents a certain idea/concept. Symbols thus is prevalent within literary works which typically contain hidden meanings. For example, a main character can be a symbol of resistance towards oppression, a dragon could either be a symbol of destruction in western culture or the symbol of wisdom in eastern culture, or a
flower perhaps is a symbol of the antagonist‘ hostile intention towards the
protagonist. In regards to this study, the writer is going to discuss symbols, specifically creature symbols as foreshadowing of event.
Foreshadowing in literature is described as follows:
Thus, foreshadowing is akin of technique which allows an author of literary work to clue in the readers of the plot development through the subtle hints presented within the story. Through the hints, readers may then anticipate what might happen later in the story, whether the protagonist will live through the day or not, or perhaps will he be reunited with his lover or parting ways instead.
Both symbols and foreshadowing are often used by literary authors to hint the readers towards hidden meanings within their works. Thus, they encourage the readers to be more involved into the story.
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling uses symbols in form of creatures presented in the story. For example, a large black dog which was the animagus form of Sirius Black. A dog is a symbol of loyalty, but the black dog was presented in the story as an omen of death. Peter Pettigrew on the other hand have the animagus form of a rat, a symbol of disease and cowardice.
These creature symbols are then used by Rowling to clue in the readers towards the main conflict of the story in which Harry Potter is confronted by the unknown part of his past, one that is related to the night when his parents, James and Lily Potter, were murdered, and him becoming the Boy-Who-Lived, the hero of British magical world. The creatures in the novel, both magical or non-magical, are an important aspects in Harry Potter universe, especially regarding the third book Prisoner of Azkaban where creatures are prevalent throughout the story, and thus, the writer is going to discuss in this undergraduate thesis how the creature
symbols in the novel foreshadow Harry Potter‘s confrontation with his past as
B. Problem Formulation
Based on explanation above, the problems the writer discussed in this paper are formulated as follows:
1. How are the creature symbols presented in the novel?
2. How do the creature symbols foreshadow Harry‘s confrontation with
his past in the plot?
C. Objectives of the Study
In accordance to the problem formulation above, this study has two objectives to achieve.
The first is to find out how the creature symbols are presented in the novel
and second is to discover how the creature symbols foreshadow Harry‘s
confrontation of his past in the novel. D. Definition of Terms
The following part of this study will present a couple of terms that the writer will clarify in order to avoid misunderstanding from the readers.
Creature is defined as ―an animal, distinct from a person‖ and as ―a
fictional or imaginary being‖ (en.oxforddictionaries.com, 22 November 2016).
Foreshadowing is defined as ―the use of indicative word or phrases and
4
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
In relation to this study, the writer has reviewed several academic writings that are relevant with the topic and novel discussed in this study.
The first is an article taken from the journal Litera-Kultura written by Listiyaning Tias, ―Creature and Color Symbolism in J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban‖. In her study, Tias found that there are two kinds of
creature symbols, the good and the bad. The good creature symbols are represented in the novel through Buckbeak the Hippogriff, a creature of air and a symbol of kindness, the black dog which is the animagus form of Sirius Black as
the symbol of bravery, and Hermione‘s pet cat Crookshanks which symbolizes
intelligence. The bad creature symbols, on the other hand, are the rat Scabbers which symbolizes betrayal, and the magical creatures Red Cap, Grindilow, and Kappa that symbolizes crime, slyness, and vengeance respectively. Secondly, Tias
also found two colour symbols in the story: a white stag which symbolizes purity, and the black dementors of Azkaban Prison and the black dog Grim that symbolize evil and death (ejournal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/litera-kultura, 22 November 2016).
different approaches including biographical and psychological approach, found that the significance of the character Hermione Granger is to ―give picture of the situation happens in society, including the behaviour among the society
themselves‖ (Sabarno, 2006: 56). This was shown through ―surface
representation‖ of Hermione who represents not only Rowling‘s qualities, but also
is a balancing character to the Harry Potter and Ron Weasley (Sabarno, 2006: 56),
and ―depth representation‖ through Rowling‘s use of Hermione‘s character to give
the readers her view towards life and her idea of school life (Sabarno, 2006: 57). The third is another undergraduate thesis entitled ―Animal Symbolism to
Foreshadow Future Events in George R. R. Martin‘s A Game of Thrones” which
was written in 2015 by Kristiana Artiningtyas Budi Haryani. In her study, Haryani found that the animal symbols found in A Game of Thrones give hint towards the
future events in the story. The first symbol in the novel, ―a dead direwolf with an
antler under its jaw‖ hinted towards the death of Eddard of the House Stark which
has the sigil of Direwolf, and King Robert of the House Baratheon that has the sigil of a stag (Haryani, 2015: 49). The other symbol are a Norman sculpture
which shows a stag killed by a wild boar, foreshadowing King Robert‘s death
whom was killed by a boar, and another Norman Sculpture that depicted a boar attacking a tree while a lion was watching, suggesting that the Lannister who has a golden lion as their sigil is the one behind his death (Haryani, 2015: 50)
of Azkaban. Regarding the last study written by Haryani, despite this thesis has the
same topic of studying symbols as foreshadowing of future events in a novel, the object of study used is different as Haryani used A Game of Thrones from the series A Song of Ice and Fire written by George R. R. Martin whilst the writer
analysed Rowling‘s work Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban of the Harry
Potter series and the future event foreshadowed by the symbols is specified in the
title as Harry Potter‘s confrontation with his past which was revealed in the
conflict of the novel.
B. Review of Related Theories
In this part, the writer has reviewed several theories that are going to be used to solve the problem formulation of this study.
1. Theory of Symbol
Symbol is a major element in literary works. It is an element that signifies something which then brought the hidden meaning behind a literary work. M. H. Abrams simply defined a symbol broadly as ―anything that signifies something‖ (1999: 311), but he further elaborated the terms in relation to discussing literature as follows:
In discussing literature, however, the term "symbol" is applied only to a word or phrase that signifies an object or event which in its turn signifies something, or has a range of reference, beyond itself (1999: 311).
not to be taken literally as merely a conflict, but a symbol of chaos, failure of leaders to keep order and peace for their people.
Furthermore, Abrams classified symbols into conventional or public
symbols and personal symbols. Conventional symbols refer to ―symbolic objects
of which the further significance is determinate within a particular culture‖
(Abrams, 1999: 311). These symbols are ―conventional‖ because they were not
invented by one person, but their meanings were established into place within the culture of a society. Examples of such symbols are sword which in medieval culture of Europe and in the samurai culture of Japan is a symbol for honour and justice, and cross which is the symbol of salvation and victory against evil in the
Christian culture. Personal symbols on the other hand, refer to ―symbols that are
made by exploiting widely shared associations between an object or event or
action and a particular concept‖ (Abrams, 1999: 311). Whereas conventional
symbols are the result of culture, personal symbol is an invention of a person, an author, and thus, their meaning is defined in accordance to the author‘s will and may differs to the symbolic meaning established in a certain culture. For example, a sword, as opposed of being a symbol of honour and justice as established in warrior culture of medieval Europe and Japan, symbolizes war, chaos, and bloodshed instead.
Arp and Johnson stated that there are several things to consider in defining a symbol. According to them,
1. ―A story must furnish a clue that a detail is to be taken symbolically. The
position‖ (2006: 280).
2. ―The meaning of literary symbol must be established and supported by the
context of the story. A symbol has its meaning in the story, not outside of
it‖ (2006: 280).
3. ―To be called a symbol, an item must suggest a meaning different in kind
from its literal meaning, or in other words, a symbol is something more than a representative of a class or type (2006: 280).
4. A symbol may have more than one meaning. It may suggest a cluster of meaning that is controlled by the context of the story (2006: 281).
2. Theory of Plot
Plot is an essential part of any story. Without a plot, there will be no story at all. Thus, plot is a base for a story to develop from the beginning until it ends. Roberts and Jacobs defined plot as follows:
A plot is a plan or groundwork for a story, based in conflicting human motivations, with the actions resulting from believable and realistic human response. In a well-plotted story, nothing is irrelevant; everything is related. In a story, it is response, interaction, opposition, and causation that make a plot out of simple series of actions (1987: 87).
Therefore, in accordance to definition above, a plot as a groundwork of a
story is realistic and believable as it is based on the characters‘ motivation which
conflicted against each other.
It is also important to note that according to the definition above, everything is related in a good plot. This means that every single event that happens in a story contributes something to the story, whether it is developing the protagonist into a wiser figure, giving hints of future conflict, or showing a friendly character who turns out to be the antagonist. Abrams called this relation
of events as ―unity of action,‖ which all the events in a story is viewed as a
complete and orderly structure and is directed intentionally to cause a certain effect (Abrams, 1999: 225-226).
A particularly important part of a plot in most stories is conflict. Abrams
defined conflict as ―the relation between the chief character of the plot, the
protagonist, and the important opponent he is pitted against, the antagonist‖
always directly against the protagonist‘s. Thus, since they have conflicting interest
in the plot, the protagonist clashed against the antagonist until the conflict is resolved, whether through violence or peaceful resolution, or perhaps by having the antagonist fled the town, never to be seen again.
The place of conflict in the plot of a story can be seen in Freytag‘s
Pyramid structure.
The pyramid structure is a model of plot analysis for five-act play introduced by Gustav Freytag (Guerin et al, 2011: 8), albeit it can be used to
analyse novel‘s plot as well.
that marks the beginning of rising action. From then on, the basic conflict becomes increasingly more complex with the addition of other conflicts, setbacks, and/or obstacles that serve to frustrate the protagonist even more up until the climax which is the turning point of the story where the protagonist undergo a major change. Then, the plot enters the falling action where the protagonist either win or lose against the antagonist and a final moment of suspense might be included within the falling action, during which the final outcome of the story is doubted. Finally, the story is wrapped up in a conclusion. Different terms are used in referring to this part as comedy ends with denouement where the protagonist is better off than in the beginning of the story while tragedy ends with a catastrophe in which the protagonist is destroyed in some way (Guerin et al, 2011: 8).
3. Theory of Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing as a literary terms is a ―hint or suggestion of what is to
come‖ (Barnet, 2008: 103), allowing readers to glimpse at the future events of the
story. This means that foreshadowing is a vague clue that can be found in the story that indicates the readers of upcoming event, character development, or plot progression that will happen later in a story. For example, what may be happen in the conflict or if the supposed villain is revealed to be innocent later.
On the other hand, Cuddon stated that foreshadowing is ―an arrangement
resolved or how will the character faced his enemy, is already clued in to the readers through connection to earlier scenes and previously given information in the early part of the novel.
C. Theoretical Framework
In this part, the writer is going to discuss how the reviewed theories are to be used in order to answer the problem formulation.
Firstly, the theory of symbols by Abrams, Arp, and Johnson is used to determine whether creatures found in the novel are truly symbols in accordance to the repetition and emphasize upon their appearance in the plot and whether they
are conventional or personal symbols. Arp and Johnson‘s theory is also used to
determine their meaning as constructed by the context of the novel and thus, answering the first problem formulation. Secondly, the creature symbols found in the novel are then placed on the Freytag‘s pyramid structure in accordance to their order of appearance. The theory of foreshadowing is then applied in conjunction with the theory of plot in order to determine which part of the confrontation happened in the climax each creature symbols foreshadow based on the
13 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of this undergraduate thesis is the novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. It was written by J.K. Rowling as the third
instalment in her famous Harry Potter series and was first published by Bloomsbury in July 8 1999 to worldwide acclaim.
The novel have won various awards after its publishing, including Nestlé Smarties Book Prize 1999 Gold Medal for 9-11years category, Scottish Arts
Council Children‘s Book Award 1999, overall winner in longer novel category of
FCBG Children‘s Book Award 1999, North East Book Award 1999, and
Whitaker‘s Platinum Book Award 2001. According to The Guardian, the novel
was sold over 3 million copies by 2012 (www.theguardian.com, 24 November 2016), and have been translated into over 60 languages. It was even adapted as a film of the same title in 2004, directed by Alfonso Cuarón and distributed by Warner Bros.
The Prisoner of Azkaban told the story of Harry Potter in his third year as a student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It first took place during a summer holiday in Privet Drive number 4 where Harry lived with his
dreadful relatives, the Dursleys. After he accidentally caused his uncle‘s sister to
Harry was hoping that the year would be a peaceful one. Alas, it was not meant to be since Sirius Black, a notorious mass murderer and said to be the most loyal servant of Voldemort, was after him, supposedly to avenge Voldemort‘s defeat. The situation got even more complicated when the dementors sent by the
Ministry of Magic into Hogwarts‘ grounds to hunt Black attacked him instead.
As Harry struggled to survive his third year against a mass murderer hunting him down and the dementors that would love to suck his soul at the first opportunity available while going through his complicated school life, he learned one important thing about Sirius Black: the murderer that was once his
father‘s best friend betrayed the Potters to Voldemort. Shocked and furious, he
hoped that Sirius Black would find him so he could kill him instead. Silently though, he wondered if he would meet his death when the Grim kept on appearing before him throughout the year just before accidents that nearly take his life, not to mention the prophecy spoken professor Trelawney of the impending reunion between Voldemort and his loyal servant only made things even more complicated.
B. Approach of the Study
This study was conducted by applying New Criticism approach in conducting analysis in order to answer the problem formulations of the study.
The New Criticism, according to Lois Tyson, focused on ―the text itself‖,
that ―a certain interpretation requires a careful examination, or ‗close reading‘ of
the formal elements in the text that form, or shape, the literary work‖ (2006: 137).
that is the intrinsic elements, of a literary work in interpreting its meaning. Hence, it is essential for New Critics to carefully examine the intrinsic elements of literary work, such as characterization, point of view, symbols, and so on, as the meaning interpreted from a literary work must be supported by the context of the text.
The New Critics upheld that a literary work is ―timeless, autonomous
verbal object‖ (2006: 137) which will always be the same, even though the
readers and readings change in time. The meaning of literary work is objective as it is constructed by the work‘s organic unity – the working together of all formal elements as an inseparable whole – that creates one-of-a-kind relation by which New Critics judged the quality of literary work (2006: 137-138).
In this study, the writer applied the New Criticism approach in analysing the intrinsic elements of the Prisoner of Azkaban novel: the creature symbols
presented in the novel, the conflict of the novel which is Harry Potter‘s
confrontation with his past, and how the presented creature symbols foreshadow the aforementioned conflict.
C. Method of the Study
This study was conducted through library research. The primary source for the study is the novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling while the secondary sources used in the analysis were Guerin‘s A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature and Chevalier‘s The Penguin Dictionary of
There were several steps taken in conducting the analysis. Firstly, the writer close read of the novel and applied the theory of symbol in finding out the creature symbols in the novel. Secondly, the writer consulted the secondary sources in determining which creature symbols could appropriately foreshadow
Harry‘s confrontation with his past. Thirdly, during the analysis on how the
creature symbols foreshadow Harry‘s confrontation with his past, the writer
17 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter presents the analysis conducted by the writer in answering the previously formulated problems. Thus, this chapter is divided into two different sections based on the two problems formulated.
The first section discusses about the creature symbols presented in the story, using the theory of symbols in order to prove that the findings could be legitimately called as symbols, and the second section presents the in-depth analysis of the writer on how the aforementioned creature symbols foreshadowed
the confrontation between Harry and his past revealed by the novel‘s conflict
using the theory of plot and the theory of foreshadowing mentioned in chapter II. A. Creature Symbols in the Novel
Creatures are intricately tied into the novels of Harry Potter series. Whether it is a common animal, mythical beasts of legend, or the magical
creatures of Rowling‘s own creation, Rowling made the creatures she presented in
Harry Potter series as an inseparable part of its universe and often served a role to
further the story‘s plot.
Buckbeak for attacking Draco, ―This might help, look – a Manticore savaged
someone in 1296, and they let the Manticore off – oh – no, that was only because
everyone was too scared to come near it‖ (Rowling, 1999: 235).
There are, however, creatures Rowling presented which served in particular importance as symbols: The black dog, Scabbers the rat, Buckbeak the
hippogriff, the white stag that appeared as Harry‘s patronus, Hermione‘s pet cat
Crookshanks, and the dementors of Azkaban prison. In this thesis, the writer picks
the black dog, Ron‘s pet rat Scabbers, and the dementors of Azkaban prison
among them as they not only serve as symbolic elements in the story, but also contributed as foreshadowing element to the future events occurring in the novel as well, as proven by the third section analysis later.
1. The Black Dog
The black dog is one of the symbols that are of importance in the Prisoner of Azkaban. It made a recurring appearance throughout the novel‘s storyline,
shadowing Harry twice just before accidents that nearly killed him and later was revealed to be the animagus form of Sirius Black, a fugitive on the run. As Arp
and Johnson stated that ―The symbol always signals their existence through
emphasis, repetition, or position‖ (2006: 280), the fact that the black dog appeared
repeatedly throughout the plot as it shadowed Harry, twice just before the accidents that nearly killed him and once more just before his confrontation with
Sirius Black, as well as the revelation of it as Sirius‘ animagus form confirmed
Originally, the black dog was thought to be a Grim, a dog-like creature
which Professor Trelawney described in the novel as followed, ―the giant, spectral
dog that haunts churchyards, an omen – the worst omen –of death‖ (1999: 118). In accordance to the quoted statement above, it is clear that if the black dog truly is a Grim, then it is meant to be a symbol of death. However, as Arp and
Johnson stated, ―the meaning symbol must be established and supported by the
context of the story‖ (2006: 180). Thus, there must be evidence within the novel
that support whether the black dog is a Grim that symbolizes death or not.
As per Ron Weasley‘s words found in the novel regarding the subject,
―Grim scare the living out of most wizard‖ (1999: 122) and many students in the
Divination class during their first lesson gasped in horror when professor Trelawney announced that Harry had Grim in his tea cup as they understand the significance of Grim.
―My dear,‖ Professor Trelawney‘s huge eyes opened dramatically, ―you have the Grim.‖
―The what?‖ said Harry.He could tell that he wasn‘t the only one who
didn‘t understand; Dean Thomas shrugged at him and Lavender Brown
looked puzzled, but nearly everybody else clapped their hands to their mouths in horror. (1999: 118)
Based on the passage above, it can be concluded that Grim as a symbol of
death is a common superstition in the magical world. Thus, it fits Abrams‘ theory
of conventional symbol that it is a ―symbolic object which significance is
determined within a particular culture‖ (Abrams, 1999: 311). In this case, the
The two accidents that occurred immediately following the black dog‘s
appearance, both nearly takes Harry‘s life, seems to support the possibility that the
black dog is indeed a Grim. The first occurred during the night when Harry left Magnolia Crescent and the second is on the first quidditch match of the season against Hufflepuff.
While there were no clear implication that the black dog appeared to be spectral in its first appearance as how Trelawney described the Grim, Harry had estimated its size to be very large when he lighted the surrounding area.
―Lumos,‖ Harry muttered, and a light appeared at the end of his wand,
almost dazzling him. He held it high over his head, and the pebble-dashed walls of number two suddenly sparkled; the garage door gleamed, and between them Harry saw, quite distinctly, the hulking outline of something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes. (1999: 36)
What Harry saw at the time was a silhouette which he later affirmed to be
something similar to a dog, ――There was a big black thing,‖ said Harry, pointing
uncertainly into the gap. ―Like a dog … but massive …‖‖ (1999: 37).
Coincided with its first appearance, Harry was almost crushed by the Knight Bus that answered his unintended summon when he accidentally waved his wand arm as he fell.
There was a deafening BANG and Harry threw up his hands to shield his eyes against a sudden blinding light ... With a yell, he rolled back onto the pavement, just in time. A second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights had screeched to a halt exactly where Harry had just been lying. (1999: 36)
had the picture of a black dog similar to the one he saw at the night, but even then he tried to assure himself that it was just a stray dog (1999: 59-60).
After the first class of Divination however, Harry began to fear that what he saw at the night when he left the Dursleys was indeed an omen of his death. He was placated when professor McGonagall said that none of the students whose death were seen by professor Trelawney turned out to be so (1999: 120). When Harry admitted that he did see a great black dog that night, Ron answered him that Grim was a bad omen in magical world as his uncle Bilius died not long after he saw one (1999: 121). Hermione on the other hand, insisted that it was merely a superstition.
The black dog made a second appearance during the first game of quidditch in the season between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Again, the Grim appeared this time as a silhouette, though Harry could clearly made out its form.
He turned, intending to head back toward the middle of the field, but at that moment, another flash of lightning illuminated the stands, and Harry saw something that distracted him completely — the silhouette of an enormous shaggy black dog, clearly imprinted against the sky, motionless in the topmost, empty row of seats. (1999: 197)
As with the dog‘s first appearance, the incident occurred following its
presence endangered Harry‘s life.
Numbing, swirling white mist was filling Harry‘s brain. … What was he doing? Why was he flying? He needed to help her. … She was going to die. … She was going to be murdered.
… He was falling, falling through the icy mist.
“Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy. …”
Harry fell from his broom because of dementors‘ presence during the
match. Albeit he survived the fall, he seriously began to think that the black dog may truly be a Grim, an omen for his death.
When the two encounters above are considered, a conclusion may be reached that the black dog truly is a Grim and thus, a symbol of death. However, there is a possibility that what the black dog signifies as a symbol may not be as obvious as implied. As it turns out, despite the two incidents occurred previously pointed to the conclusion that the black dog is a Grim as Harry had feared, Rowling gives a clue that the black dog may not be a Grim in its third appearance. Crookshanks seemed to have come to a halt. Harry was sure he could see something else moving in the shadow of the trees too.
And just then, it emerged — a gigantic, shaggy black dog, moving stealthily across the lawn, Crookshanks trotting at its side. Harry stared. What did this mean? If Crookshanks could see the dog as well, how could
it be an omen of Harry‘s death? (1999: 338)
From the passage above, Crookshanks seemed to be able to perceive the existence of the black dog quite clearly, indicating a possibility that the dog may not be a Grim which is supposed to be spectral in appearance in accordance to
Trelawney‘s description. It is also curious that Crookshanks halted as if waiting
for the dog to appear before trotting at its side. Harry later referred to this event
when he mentioned that Crookshanks was ―friends with the dog‖ (1999: 275).
The black dog appeared for the fourth time when it kidnapped Ron into a hidden passage beneath the Whomping Willow.
Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back toward them he pushed Harry
aside; the dog‘s jaws fastened instead around Ron‘s outstretched arm. Harry lunged forward, he seized a handful of the brute‘s hair, but it was
That the black dog could bite Ron and dragged him away is clearly an evidence that it is solid in appearance instead of spectral and thus, is not a Grim. Accordingly, as the evidence disproved the previous hypothesis, there must be something else signified by the black dog.
Towards the climax of the plot, the black dog is revealed to be the animagus form of Sirius Black.
―Where‘s the dog?‖
―Not a dog,‖ Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. ―Harry, it‘s a
trap —‖ waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black. (1999: 377)
As it turns however, Sirius Black was never a traitor. He is a loyal friends to Harry‘s parents and sworn that he ―never betrayed James and Lily and would
have died before he betrayed them‖ (1999: 415). He also stated that his reason to
break out from Azkaban was to protect Harry as he was the only one who knew that the traitor Pettigrew, servant to Lord Voldemort was still alive (1999: 415). This loyalty is actually reflected in the black dog that is his animagus form. Dog is often depicted as loyal animal and here, the form of black dog Sirius assumed signified the loyalty he held towards his friends. Hence, loyalty the signified meaning by the symbol of dog in Prisoner of Azkaban.
However, as Arp and Johnson suggested that ―a symbol may suggest a
another meaning to the symbol of black dog aside from loyalty. In the quoted passage below, Sirius is depicted to hold grief and sorrow over the death of
Harry‘s parents.
―Harry … I as good as killed them,‖ he croaked. ―I persuaded Lily and
James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as
Secret Keeper instead of me. … I‘m to blame, I know it. … The night they died, I‘d arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when
I arrived at his hiding place, he‘d gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle.
It didn‘t feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents‘ house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies … I realized what Peter must‘ve done … what I‘d done. …‖ (1999: 408)
The grief and sorrow he felt over their death are the meaning symbolized by its black fur which is the color often used as a sign of grieving in funeral. Its
relation to death also related to the dog‘s heavy resemblance to the Grim, the
harbinger of death in the novel. In this case, the black fur of the dog reflects Sirius‘ desire for vengeance on whom caused him much sorrow and anguish, his traitorous friend Peter Pettigrew. This desire was so strong that it turned into obsession that enabled him to resist the dementors.
―So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter
was still alive. …‖
Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley. ―The guards
say he‘s been talking in his sleep … always the same words … ‗He’s at
Hogwarts.‘ ‖
―It was as if someonehad lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn‘t
destroy it. … It wasn‘t a happy feeling … it was an obsession … but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind.‖ (1999: 415)
sorrow he felt as he mourned for their death and its heavy resemblance to the Grim in the novel signifies his desire for vengeance, to bring death towards the one who betrayed him and his friends.
2. Scabbers the Rat
The rat Scabbers is a pet belongs to Ron Weasley, Harry‘s best friend along with Hermione Granger. It is described by a witch working in the Magical
Menagerie on Diagon Alley as a common garden rat, but one that ―has been
through the mill‖ after she saw its tattered left ear and a front paw that missing a
toe (1999: 64-65).
Scabbers is included amongst the creature symbols in this study because there are several details regarding the rat in Prisoner of Azkaban that Rowling emphasized through position and repetition, as per the theory of symbol by Arp and Johnson (2006: 280). Throughout the novel, Scabbers is portrayed to be sick
and stressed which later turned out to be related to Sirius‘ escape from Azkaban
and the subsequent confrontation that reveals the truth of Harry‘s past.
Scabbers‘ sickly appearance is first noted when Harry encountered Ron
and Hermione in Diagon Alley during the summer holiday.
He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket. ―And I want to get him checked over,‖ he added, placing Scabbers on the table in front of them. ―I don‘t
think Egypt agreed with him.‖
Scabbers was looking thinner than usual, and there was a definite droop to his whiskers. (1999: 63)
―Hm,‖ said the witch, picking up Scabbers. ―How old is this rat?‖ ―Dunno,‖ said Ron. ―Quite old. He used to belong to my brother.‖ …
―An ordinary common or garden rat like this can‘t be expected to live
longer than three years or so,‖ said the witch. (1999: 64-65)
During Harry‘s third year at Hogwarts, Scabbers condition was not
improved that even Harry thought that the rat was reaching the end of its life. It had been a while since Harry had seen him out of Ron‘s pocket, and he was unpleasantly surprised to see that Scabbers, once so fat, was now very skinny; patches of fur seemed to have fallen out too.
…
But Harry, remembering what the woman at the Magical Menagerie had said about rats living only three years, couldn‘t help feeling that unless Scabbers had powers he had never revealed, he was reaching the end of his life. (1999: 251)
Scabbers then went missing on Christmas when Harry received the gift of a Firebolt, but later turned up again by Hagrid‘s hut when Harry, Ron, and Hermione accompanied him before the execution for Buckbeak the hippogriff. Its condition seemed to be worse than ever.
He grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light. Scabbers looked dreadful. He was thinner than ever, large tufts of hair had fallen out
leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron‘s hands as though
desperate to free himself. (1999: 367)
Aside from its bad health condition, Scabbers is also seems to be constantly in fear of something, though often it is because Hermione‘s cat
Crookshanks was after him. However, during Buckbeak‘s execution, the rat tried
to escape frantically from something even when Crookshanks was not around.
―It‘s Scabbers —he won‘t — stay put —‖
Ron was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat was going berserk; squeaking madly, twisting and flailing, trying to sink his
teeth into Ron‘s hand. (1999: 369).
escape from Azkaban, and the rat, whom truly is Peter Pettigrew in disguise, knew that Sirius was out for him. The first time his condition is noted to be sick is also
recalled by Harry to coincide with the time of Sirius‘ escape. Accordingly, the
position and repeated details of Scabbers‘ ill condition and fear made it fit to be mention as a symbol.
Scabbers then as a symbol reflects the character of Peter Pettigrew for the rat is his animagus form. Peter is revealed by Sirius to be a spy for Voldemort and
a traitor to Harry‘s parents for selling them out.
―Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord … you have no idea … he has weapons you can‘t imagine. … I was scared, Sirius, I was
never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen. … He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me —‖
―DON‘T LIE!‖ bellowed Black. ―YOU‘D BEEN PASSING
INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES
DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!‖
―He — he was taking over everywhere!‖ gasped Pettigrew. ―Wh — what
was there to be gained by refusing him?‖ (1999: 418).
Peter as a treacherous man ratted on his friends, James and Lily, giving their location which he supposed to keep secret to Voldemort. Incidentally, his animagus form is also a rat, a small rodent animal. By the double meaning of the word rat, it can be concluded that the rat Scabbers symbolizes betrayal.
Aside from his treachery, the symbol of rat also reflects two other traits of Peter Pettigrew. First is the cowardice he showed after his deception was revealed.
According to Sirius, Peter is ―always liked big friends who‘d look after him‖
(1999: 412) and that ―his own stinking skin meant more to him than Harry‘s
whole family.‖ (1999: 419). This statement is supported by the fact that Peter tried
―Sirius —it‘s me … it‘s Peter … your friend … you wouldn‘t …‖
Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled. ―There‘s enough filth on my
robes without you touching them,‖ said Black.
―Remus!‖ Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. ―You don‘t believe this … wouldn‘t Sirius have told you they‘d changed the plan?‖ (1999: 416).
When the two made clear their intention not to spare him, Peter turned towards Ron and Hermione in desperation, but neither were willing to help him.
―Ron … haven‘t I been a good friend … a good pet? You won‘t let them kill me, Ron, will you … you‘re on my side, aren‘t you?‖
... Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of
Hermione‘s robes.
―Sweet girl … clever girl … you —you won‘t let them. … Help me. …‖
Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew‘s clutching hands and backed
away against the wall, looking horrified. (1999: 417).
Peter even knelt towards Harry, clearly in fear for his life. He tried to convince Harry that his father James, someone he had betrayed, would have understood and show him mercy.
―Harry … Harry … you look just like your father … just like him. …‖ …
―Harry,‖ whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. ―Harry, James wouldn‘t have wanted me killed. … James would have
understood, Harry … he would have shown me mercy. …‖ (1999: 417
-418).
His action in the two passages above proved his cowardice and that he cares only for his own life. To save his own life, he is willing to kneel and beg to those he had readily betrayed.
Peter‘s other trait worthy of note is that he is a cunning trickster. In
Prisoner of Azkaban, he cleverly deceived everyone into thinking that he was
dead.
―My God,‖ said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. ―His front paw …‖
―He‘s got a toe missing,‖ said Black.
―Of course,‖ Lupin breathed. ―So simple … so brilliant … he cut it off
himself?‖
―Just before he transformed,‖ said Black. ―When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I‘d betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I
could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself — and sped down into the
sewer with the other rats. …‖ (1999: 405-406)
The passage showed that Peter is a quite cunning with his trick. He successfully faked his own death and framed Sirius as Voldemort‘s spy, thereby deceiving everyone into thinking that he was a tragic hero when he really was not.
Peter also faked his death as Scabbers when he realizes that Hermione‘s cat
Crookshanks were helping Sirius to get to him.
―But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it. …‖ croaked
Black. ―This cat — Crookshanks, did you call him? — told me Peter had
left blood on the sheets. … I supposed he bit himself. … Well, faking his own death had worked once. …‖ (1999: 407)
The context of both passages clearly support that Peter has a certain cunning in him befitting a trickster, but it is clear as well that he only did so to save his own life. Therefore, the symbol of rat here also stands for both cowardice and cunning.
3. Dementors of Azkaban
The dementors are the guardians of Azkaban, a dreadful prison where the Ministry of Magic put the convicted witch and wizard for imprisonment. They are a kind of dark creatures with terrible physical appearance described as follows in Prisoner of Azkaban,
Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin‘s
hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was
completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry‘s eyes darted downward, and
what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like
something dead that had decayed in water. … (1999: 92)
Even more terrible than its appearance is its power to suck happiness and bring despair and hopelessness to its immediate surroundings. As Lupin put it,
Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel
their presence, though they can‘t see them. Get too near a dementor and
every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to
something like itself … soulless and evil. You‘ll be left with nothing but
the worst experiences of your life. (1999: 208-209).
This terrifying power is even more pronounced by its ability called the
Dementor‘s Kiss which enables it to suck the soul of the living. It is, according to
Lupin, is ―its last and worst weapon, used upon those they wished to destroy
utterly‖ (1999: 274-275). To be subjected to the Dementor‘s Kiss is something
Lupin described to be worse than death as he stated that,
You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart
are still working. But you‘ll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no
… anything. There‘s no chance at all of recovery. You‘ll just — exist. As
an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever … lost.‖ (1999: 275).
is mentioned as a symbol of importance in this study since their recurring appearance throughout the story and positioned as an opposition towards Harry, despite being tasked to guard Hogwarts and its students, fits the theory of symbol stated by Arp and Johnson in Perrine’s Literaturethat ―the symbol always signals
their existence through emphasis, repetition, or position‖ (2006: 280).
When a dementor first appeared in the story during the ride on Hogwarts Express in an inspection for Sirius Black presence on the train, Harry was immediately subjected to its frightening power.
And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.
An intense cold swept over them all. Harry felt his own breath catch in his chest. The cold went deeper than his skin. It was inside his chest, it was
inside his very heart …
Harry‘s eyes rolled up into his head. He couldn‘t see. He was drowning in
cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being
dragged downward, the roaring growing louder…
And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams. (1999: 92-93)
Albeit the dementor was tasked to search for Sirius Black, it opted instead to attack the occupants of the compartment until Lupin banished it. Harry is the only one to pass out during the encounter, though it seemed that everyone alongside him were equally affected. In his second encounter during the quidditch match however, it is clear that the group of dementors were after Harry specifically.
And then a horribly familiar wave of cold swept over him, inside him, just as he became aware of something moving on the field below. …
Before he‘d had time to think, Harry had taken his eyes off the Snitch and
looked down.
chest, cutting at his insides. And then he heard it again. … Someone was screaming, screaming inside his head … a woman … (1999: 198)
The quoted passages above positioned the dementors to oppose Harry, and with both encounters forced Harry to relive the memory of his mother‘s death, foreshadowing the conflict of the novel later, they affirmed that the dementor is indeed a symbol of importance in the novel.
Unlike the black dog and the rat which are conventional symbols, the dementor, being a creature invented entirely by J.K. Rowling, is a personal symbol. This because the meaning it signified as a symbol is defined in accordance to her will as the author as per Abrams theory of symbol (1999: 311). The power of dementors reflected the meaning it signified as a symbol. They drain the positive feeling from their surroundings and leave despair and
hopelessness in their wake. A case in point, the reaction of Harry‘s friends after
the encounter with a dementor on the train.
―It was horrible,‖ said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. ―Did you feel how cold it got when it came in?‖
―I felt weird,‖ said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. ―Like I‘d never be cheerful again. …‖
Ginny, who was huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as Harry felt, gave a small sob; Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around her. (1999: 95).
This feeling of unhappiness along with Harry‘s own experience of having
B. Creature Symbols as Foreshadowing Element
The creature symbols of the Prisoner of Azkaban discussed in the previous part of this chapter have a certain role in the plot of the novel as foreshadowing element. They hint towards the future event occurring in the plot of the novel. What is foreshadowed by the symbols of black dog, rat, and dementor are the
main conflict of the story. Conflict is defined by M. H. Abrams as ―the relation
between the chief character of the plot, the protagonist, and the important opponent he is pitted against, the antagonist‖ (1999: 224-225). In Prisoner of Azkaban, the protagonist of the novel is clearly Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.
The antagonist of the novel however, is not so clear. For the most part of the novel, it assumed that the antagonist is Sirius Black, a fugitive who escaped the Azkaban prison and supposedly a traitor whom sold Harry‘s parents to Voldemort. It is only at the climax of the plot however that the true antagonist is revealed to be Peter Pettigrew, the traitor whom everyone thought to die a hero. Nevertheless, both the false antagonist Sirius Black and true antagonist Peter Pettigrew have the
relation with the protagonist Harry Potter. This relation is Harry‘s past,
specifically the truth about who betrayed his parents, one who sold them to Voldemort and allowed him to find their family. To sum it up, the conflict in Prisoner of Azkaban is about the truth behind Harry‘s past regarding the betrayal
to his parents which resulted in their subsequent murders.
In order to determine how the creature symbols act as foreshadowing to the conflict, it is necessary to observe how they are placed in the entirety of plot
is to come‖ (Barnet, 2008: 103) and Cuddon suggest that it is ―the structural and
thematic unity in a novel as events and information are arranged in such way that
later events are shadowed forth beforehand‖ (2013: 285), it therefore dictates that
the foreshadowing must be put before what they are hinting at is actually happened in the plot. In this case, the creature symbols foreshadowed the conflict of the novel. In examining the placement of foreshadowing elements and the foreshadowed event in the plot, the Freytag pyramid structure of plot is used in the analysis.
In Freytag pyramid structure, the very first part of a plot is exposition where the background information of the story, such as characters and the basic conflict, is provided. As the creature symbols are the foreshadowing elements that foreshadowed the main conflict in the novel, therefore their placement in the Freytag pyramid structure must lie before the climax in the novel in which all foreshadowed events occurred, which means the symbols are placed throughout the exposition and rising action part of the plot.
In the exposition part of Prisoner of Azkaban, the character Sirius Black, the assumed antagonist of the story, was introduced very early in the third chapter as an escaped convict in the muggle news (1999: 18) before his identity was made clear by the newspaper Stan Shunpike was reading during the Knight Bus ride.
Harry held the paper up to the candlelight and read: BLACK STILL AT LARGE
Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.
…
lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse. (Page 41)
While here, Sirius Black is mentioned to be a convicted wizard, it was
Stan who revealed that Sirius was a ―big supporter of Voldemort‖ (1999: 42).
However, it is to be noted that the revelation of Sirius identity as a supporter of Voldemort was preceded by Harry‘s first encounter with the large black dog suspected to be a Grim (1999: 36-37).
After a brief encounter with the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, Harry then proceeded to spend the rest of summer in Leaky Cauldron while taking occasional trips to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies. When he visited the Flourish and Blotts for new book, he was reminded of coming across the black dog in Magnolia Crescent when he saw the same dog was on the cover of a book about death omens, though later he tried to convince himself that it meant nothing. But Harry continued to stare at the front cover of the book; it showed a
black dog large as a bear, with gleaming eyes. It looked oddly familiar. … ―It can‘t have been a death omen,‖ he told his reflection defiantly. ―I was panicking when I saw that thing in Magnolia Crescent. … It was probably
just a stray dog.‖ (1999: 59-60).
Eventually, Harry was reunited with Ron and Hermione again in Diagon Alley. It was in this meeting that Harry first took notice of Scabbers unusual condition, which at the time coincided with the news of Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban (1999: 63) and later, this detail was recalled during the climax of the conflict.
―Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn‘t report it in the
press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban
the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Black‘s been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: ‗He‘s at Hogwarts … he‘s at Hogwarts.‘ Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If
you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and
he‘s had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that. …‖ (1999: 72-73)
From the quoted passage above, the ministry seemed to interpret that ‗he‘ whom Sirius mentioned in his sleep to be at Hogwarts was Harry, the one whom vanquished Voldemort, his master, and thus, they believed that Sirius was after Harry to avenge his fallen master. However, this only gives the barest detail of the conflict. The betrayal Sirius had supposedly committed to Harry‘s parents and his subsequent murder of his other friend Peter Pettigrew were not mentioned yet in
this conversation. However, a vague hint of Sirius‘ betrayal was given by Mr.
Weasley plead to Harry that he was not to look for Black despite whatever he
might hear (1999: 81) which implied that Harry would likely to do so if Sirius‘
supposed betrayal was revealed to him.
In the midst of the ride towards Hogwarts, the train was stopped for an inspection conducted by the dementors of Azkaban in search for Sirius Black. It was during the inspection Harry encountered a dementor for the first time and it
forced Harry to relive the moment of his mother‘s death, albeit the memory was,
at the time, limited to the scream of unknown woman.
And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.
…
And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams. He wanted to help whoever it was, he tried to move his arms, but
This encounter is the inciting incident of the plot. It marks the beginning of rising action, the increasing complication of the conflict in the plot, as not only that Harry was in danger from Sirius Black, but the dementors that were stationed around Hogwarts to capture him would not mind preying on him as well.
Furthermore, that Harry was forced to relive his mother‘s death during the
encounter foreshadowed that the main conflict would be related to Harry‘s past.
Specifically, the night when his parents were murdered by Voldemort and his
subsequent vanquishing the dark lord twelve years ago in Godric‘s Hollow.
Throughout the rising action part of the plot, the threat of Sirius Black seemed to be looming over Harry. In the first divination lesson where Professor Trelawney predicted his death when she saw that his tea leaves formed the shape of a Grim, a giant, spectral black dog believed by witches and wizards to be an omen of death (1999: 118) and Harry was immediately reminded of the large, dog-like silhouette he saw the night at Magnolia Crescent before he boarded the Knight Bus which happened to bear a great resemblance to a Grim. This made him slightly worried, although later McGonagall dismissed her prediction and assured Harry that he would be just fine since none the students whose death were predicted by Trelawney has died yet (1999: 120).
Further into the year, another clue of Sirius‘ supposed betrayal was given by Malfoy.
―Of course, if it was me,‖ he said quietly, ―I‘d have done something before
now. I wouldn‘t be staying in school like a good boy, I‘d be out there
looking for him.‖
―What are you talking about, Malfoy?‖ said Ron roughly.
―Don‘t you know, Potter?‖ breathed Malfoy, his pale eyes narrowed.
Malfoy let out a low, sneering laugh. ―Maybe you‘d rather not risk your neck,‖ he said. ―Want to leave it to the dementors, do you? But if it was
me, I‘d want revenge. I‘d hunt him down myself.‖ (1999: 140-141).
Malfoy‘s words, same as Mr. Weasley‘s, implied that Harry would have
wanted revenge on Sirius for a reason unknown to him. At this point however, Harry has yet to know that the reason Sirius was imprisoned years ago was not only for the mass murder he was notorious of, but also for the treason he supposedly had committed by selling his parents to Voldemort twelve years ago.
Despite the looming threat however, the year seemingly progressed smoothly for the students of Hogwarts until Sirius Black managed to sneak into
the castle during the student‘s visiting hour to Hogsmeade and attacked the Fat
Lady after he failed in his attempt to enter the Gryffindor common room.
The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so viciously that strips of canvas littered the floor; great chunks of it had been torn away completely.
…
―He got very angry when she wouldn‘t let him in, you see.‖ Peeves flipped
over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. ―Nasty
temper he‘s got, that Sirius Black.‖ (1999: 178-179).
This alerted the whole resident of Hogwarts and instigated the staff to conduct a thorough search around the castle to find Black, albeit to no avail. Since Sirius clearly attempted to enter the Gryffindor common room, this seemed to reinforce the idea that he was after Harry. With the Fat Lady being too frightened to guard the entrance to Gryffindor common room, her portrait was momentarily
replaced by Sir Cardogan‘s while security around the castle was heightened in the
The quidditch season then began not long after the incident and in unexpected turn of event, the Gryffindor were to face Hufflepuff per the request of
Slytherin team to switch their match as Malfoy‘s arm was supposedly not yet
healed. It was during the match Harry encountered the Grim for the second time (1999: 197-198), and just as when Harry came across the Grim in the Magnolia Crescent where he almost got crushed by the suddenly appeared Knight Bus, this second encounter was also followed by an incident that nearly killed him. This time by a group of dementors that suddenly appeared on the field. Harry was once again forced to relive the memory of the screaming woman, but this time it was clearer.
And then he heard it again. … Someone was screaming, screaming inside
his head … a woman …
―Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!‖
―Stand aside, you silly girl … stand aside, now. …‖
―Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —‖ ...
“Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy. …”
A shrill voice was laughing, the woman was screaming, and Harry knew no more. (1999: 198-199)
Harry realized then that the woman whose scream he had heard was his mother and what the dementors forced him to relive was his memory of Lily begging Voldemort to spare him before the dark lord killed her in the Halloween night twelve years ago. That this memory was shown twice in his two encounters with the dementors signals that the conflict of the novel was not only related to
Sirius Black, but also Harry‘s past regarding the night when his parents were
murdered.
